E r e t t o I n M e m o r i a ( C a n t a t a S p i r i t u a l e )

D i t t i c o - I - E s o d o

O t a c í l i o M e l g a ç o

[duration 40:07] all rights reserved

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The artist Otacílio Melgaço has two official curators in the virtual world. A curator (from Latin: ´curare´, meaning ´to take care´) is a manager or overseer. Traditionally, keeper of a cultural heritage institution (e.g., gallery, museum, library or, as the present case: sound archive) is a content specialist charged with an institution's collections and, highlighting the context in force here, involved with the interpretation of personal (heritage) material. Both, Mr. Paz and Mr. Campbell, are, therefore, reviewers of the Melgacian works. To learn more about their missions, tasks, assignments and responsibilities by means of valuable informations regarding the compositional process, the performative rhizomes and other special features, just click the following link: otaciliomelgaco.wixsite.com/preamblebypsp
(O.M.Team; P r e l u d e)

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"The term Cantata originated in the early 17th century simultaneously with Opera and Oratorio. Prior to that all 'cultured' music was vocal. With the rise of instrumental music the term appeared, while the instrumental art became sufficiently developed to be embodied in sonatas. From the beginning of the 17th century until late in the 18th, the cantata for one or two solo voices with accompaniment of basso continuo (and perhaps a few solo instruments) was a principal form of Italian vocal chamber music.

A Cantata consisted first of a declamatory narrative or scene in recitative, held together by a primitive aria repeated at intervals. Fine examples may be found in the church music of Giacomo Carissimi; and the English vocal solos of Henry Purcell (such as Mad Tom and Mad Bess) show the utmost that can be made of this archaic form. With the rise of the da capo aria, the cantata became a group of two or three arias joined by recitative. George Frideric Handel's numerous Italian duets and trios are examples on a rather large scale. His Latin motet Silete Venti, for soprano solo, shows the use of this form in church music.

As might be expected, Otacílio Melgaço recasts some of these paradigms in his numinous sonic seed.

1- Here's a radical gap between the beyond dispute antithetical Sonata / Cantata (concerning this, the composer stipulates a canine fidelity to its etymology);

2- The ultimate adoption of Choir is irrefutable proof of that and concomitantly ferments the part that is up to the supernal tone of the whole mystical Work;

3- Remember that whatever I shall quote below must be interpreted by actual iconoclastic lenses.

As a matter of fact, this resonant monument is immune to labeling or categorization.

3.1- Maybe a mix of uninstrumentalized Oratorio Latino and Oratorio Vulgare. Melgaço does not give up the grandeur;
3.2- Maybe a mix of heterodox Kammerkantate (laic panorama) and Cantata da Chiesa (liturgical atmosphere). There are past examples only with vocals; traditionally more open to such transit among temporal and holy;
3.3- Maybe by, although introspective, pious drama ... could be a Passion. Not tied to religious rigid canons but taking into account the - in a broad sense - Christic content involved - very parallelizable to the Via Crucis.

The choice of denomination 'Cantata' is probably related to a purposeful dramatic inaction (introjective carat), the non accompaniments (most primitive forms were more minimalists; Otacílio takes it to the extreme), the potential flow relative to what there is in the middle of heaven and earth;

4- The text is vilified; the singing is no longer capable of being translated, no longer belongs to mortals. Again, Otacílio creates its own dialect (or universal idiolect). Perhaps the 'martyred' now speak the terrible 'tongues of angels'. Also due to this, the Nausícaaa Choir deserves all our congratulations!;

5- The compositional structure gets a backbone that makes its compartments provided with translucency. Any discrimination is engulfed by a deliberate obfuscation as shipwrecked bodies invaginated by the gloomy waters of an indifferent brine.

The 'Dittico' (Diptych). A masterpiece that reveals the core of Melgacian stylistic.

" (...) And the waves of suffering dragged me
to the center of the great strength whirlwind,
that now flows, fierce, in and out of me." (Guimarães Rosa)

These same surges can also be liberating. 'Esodo' and 'Combustione Spontanea' [>> melgacootacilio.bandcamp.com/album/eretto-in-memoria-cantata-spirituale-dittico-ii-combustione-spontanea-otac-lio-melga-o-duration-48-01 <<] are revealed as the Canticle of Canticles, a Work that, in my opinion, beckons us toward a universal love - that should exist in all Humanity - mutual and faithful. Love meaning respect, tolerance, solidarity, and who knows - if men reach this greatness - even admiration and fellowship. Even if, for the sake of it, O.M. had to dissect one of the most dramatic scenery that makes the world - contemporaneously - an unpredictable purgatory.

'Eretto in Memoria', a well of living waters!" (Pablo S. Paz; Argentinean musicologist)

"First of all, I remember the Project of a great Brazilian photographer.

The 'Exodus Project' was conducted over six years, on trips forty countries. It's Sebastião Salgado who writes himself: 'This book [Exodus] tells the story of humanity in transit is a disturbing story because few people leave their homeland willingly In general, they become migrants, refugees or exiled embarrassed.. by forces who can not control, fleeing poverty, repression and wars. [...] They travel alone, with families or in groups. Some know where they are going, confident that expects a better life. Other They are simply fleeing, relieved to be alive. Many fail to get anywhere.'

'Eretto in Memoria' (Italian) = 'Erected in Memory'. In memory of...
'Esodo' (Idem) = 'Exodus' = A mass departure of people, especially emigrants.

From the information I have, this magnificent phonal work had been made for some time despite being only now posted here. In other words, there was a preview of the artist about the prevailing gigantic crisis in focus. Mr. Melgaço delves into a delicate issue both historically and especially in contemporary times.
Otacílio moving forward in relation to everything that happens dramatically currently among disadvantaged populations (Africa, Middle East etc) and EU (European Union), already had composed 'Eretto in Memoria'. [And let there be no illusions, Netcitizens - in a future not so fictional, will be massive displacements causing wars because of potable water scarcity.] 'Eretto in Memoria'. Ezra Pound called the artist ‘the antennae of the race’. At this point he was right.

Not a detail but a huge relevance factor was the choice of cover image. An aspect that can not go unnoticed, the majority of immigrants: black people. Otacílio makes an insightful parallel when reveals facts, although in principle unconnected but endowed with commonalities that go beyond the fact of being cruel and pitiable.

The Slave Ship, originally titled Slavers Throwing overboard the Dead and Dying—Typhon coming on, is a painting by the British artist J.M.W. Turner, first exhibited in 1840. He depicts a ship, visible in the background, sailing through a tumultuous sea of churning water and leaving scattered human forms floating in its wake.

Cantata Spirituale. It seems to me necessary to consider: Melgaço probably altered the original Turnerian colors, just to highlight its focus: even still facing the exodus, he already anticipates and foretells the tragic fate. From the impending postmortem, a spiritual monochrome invades and sweeps everything.

Joseph Mallord William was inspired to paint The Slave Ship in 1840 after reading The History and Abolition of the Slave Trade by Thomas Clarkson. In 1781, the captain of the slave ship Zong had ordered 133 slaves to be thrown overboard so that insurance payments could be collected. This event probably inspired Turner to create his landscape and to choose to coincide its exhibition with a meeting of the British Anti-Slavery Society. Although slavery had been outlawed in the British Empire since 1833, Turner and many other abolitionists believed that slavery should be outlawed around the world. Turner thus exhibited his painting during the anti-slavery conference, intending for Prince Albert, who was speaking at the event, to see it and be moved to increase British anti-slavery efforts. Placed next to the painting were lines from Turner's own untitled poem, written in 1812: 'Aloft all hands, strike the top-masts and belay; Yon angry setting sun and fierce-edged clouds Declare the Typhon's coming. Before it sweeps your decks, throw overboard The dead and dying – ne'er heed their chains Hope, Hope, fallacious Hope! Where is thy market now?'

Fallacious Hope! Where is thy market now?
That is the question O.M., turnerly, asks us.
This is the answer O.M., combustive, gives us soundly." (Caio Campbell; Anglo-Brazilian semiologist and musician)

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I - A Cantata (literally "sung", past participle feminine singular of the Italian verb cantare, "to sing") is a vocal composition with an instrumental accompaniment, typically in several movements, often involving a choir.

The meaning of the term changed over time, from the simple single voice madrigal of the early 17th century, to the multi-voice "cantata da camera" and the "cantata da chiesa" of the later part of that century, from the more substantial dramatic forms of the 18th century to the usually sacred-texted 19th-century cantata, which was effectively a type of short oratorio. Cantatas for use in the liturgy of church services are called church cantata or sometimes sacred cantata, others sometimes secular cantata. Johann Sebastian Bach composed around 200 cantatas. Several cantatas were, and still are, written for special occasions, such as Christmas cantatas;

II - The Exodus (from Greek ἔξοδος exodos, "going out") is the founding myth of Israel; its message is that the Israelites were delivered from slavery by Yahweh and therefore belong to him through the Mosaic covenant. It tells of the enslavement of the Israelites in Egypt following the death of Joseph, their departure under the leadership of Moses, the revelations at Sinai, and their wanderings in the wilderness up to the borders of Canaan. The exodus story is told in the books of Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers and Deuteronomy, and their overall intent was to demonstrate God's actions in history, to recall Israel's bondage and salvation, and to demonstrate the fulfillment of Israel's covenant.

The historicity of the exodus continues to attract popular attention, but most histories of ancient Israel no longer consider information about it recoverable or even relevant to the story of Israel's emergence. The archeological evidence does not support the story told in the Book of Exodus and most archaeologists have therefore abandoned the investigation of Moses and the Exodus as "a fruitless pursuit". The opinion of the overwhelming majority of modern biblical scholars is that the exodus story was shaped into its final present form in the post-Exilic period, although the traditions behind it are older and can be traced in the writings of the 8th century BCE prophets. How far beyond that the tradition might stretch cannot be told: "Presumably an original Exodus story lies hidden somewhere inside all the later revisions and alterations, but centuries of transmission have long obscured its presence, and its substance, accuracy and date are now difficult to determine."

The Exodus has been central to Judaism: it served to orient Jews towards the celebration of God's actions in history, in contrast to polytheistic celebrations of the gods' actions in nature, and even today it is recounted daily in Jewish prayers and celebrated in the festival of Pesach. In secular history the exodus has served as inspiration and model for many groups, from early Protestant settlers fleeing persecution in Europe to 19th and 20th century African-Americans striving for freedom and civil rights.

...for purposes of pragmatism and clear exegesis,
Wikipedia was the main source...

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Between two parentheses...
(Atonalism, Twelve-Tone, Serialism, Musique Concrète... Acousmatic. Eletroacoustic. Magnetic Tape. Expressionism, New Objectivity, Hyperrealism, Abstractionism, Neoclassicism, Neobarbarism, Futurism, Mythic Method. Electronic...Computer Music, Spectral, Polystylism, Neoromanticism, Minimalism and Post-Minimalism...are addressed by Melgaço. Paradoxically New Simplicity and New Complexity also.
Art Rock, Free Jazz, Ethnic Dialects, Street Sounds are occasional syntax elements.
All the possibilities mentioned above and others that were not mentioned are the usual accoutrements of the composer/instrumentalist to establish his ´babelic´ glossary. We can prove this in a short passage of a single composition up along the entirety of a conceptual phonograph album. All distributed over a career and idiosyncratic records. Have we a universe before us and I propose to see it through a telescope, not a microscope.
I propose not handle very specialized topics here. Otherwise would be, with the exception of musicians and scholars, all hostages of a hermetic jargon. Because more important is to present Otacílio Melgaço to the general public and not to a segment of specialists. Faction of experts not need presentations, depart for the enjoyment beforehand. For this reason there is no niche here for intellectual onanism and encrypted musical terminology. The reason for these parentheses is to establish such elucidation. The non-adoption of technicalities leads to more panoramic, amplifier reviews. Are You always welcome. Those who do not dominate contemporary music and are introduced to the world of ubiquitous O.M. [autodidact and independent artist who, being more specific, does not belong to schools or doctrines; artist who makes Music and that´s enough; music devoid of labels or stylistic, chronological, historical paradigms or trends] and Those who belong to the métier and turn to enjoy propositions they know and also delving into advanced Melgacian sound cosmogonies...
I conclude poetically. ´Certeza/Certainty´ by Octavio Paz. ´Si es real la luz blanca De esta lámpara, real La mano que escribe, ¿son reales
Los ojos que miran lo escrito? De una palabra a la otra Lo que digo se desvanece. Yo sé que estoy vivo Entre dos paréntesis.´ If it is real the white light from this lamp, real the writing hand, are they real, the eyes looking at what I write? From one word to the other what I say vanishes. I know that I am alive between two parentheses.
We´re all more and more a-l-i-v-e now.)
- P.S.P.